Muhammad Khan is an integral member of our team. Although not 'literate' in the conventional sense of the word or ‘educated' by the standards of the privileged few, he has the brilliance and motivation to handle perhaps the most radical section of our magazine: ‘Opinions of the Oppressed’.
For this issue we gathered opinions of men regarding
Female Education
1. Would you like your daughter to be educated?
2. Should a woman work after being educated?
3. Who would you rather educate, your son or your daughter?
The Results…
“Yes! If I could have it my way, I would even send her to college or at least educate her up till matric. She would then be able to run her house in a better manner and even get a job if she wanted to. I would want my daughter to be educated because a boy can earn through manual labor but a girl cannot. She needs to be educated in order to find a job.”
-Qurban Ali, Chowkidar, Naushero-Feroze
“Yes! I would educate her at least till class eight. In our community women are not allowed to work, she is to do household chores only. I prefer educating my son as it will be beneficial for us.”
-Akhtar, Kabariya, Multan
"Girls should be educated at least up till grade eight. Education will improve their morals and virtues and they will be able to run their household in a better manner. They will also be able to raise their childern well. We do not let our daughters work therefore, I would prefer to educate my son so that he may become an officer (Bara Afsar).”
-Darakshan, Chowkidar, Kohistan
“Yes! We should educate girls at least till matric. But I regret to tell you that let alone my daughter, I cannot even afford to educate my son. I don't have the necessary resources in present times.”
-Sultan Khan, Peshawar
“We should educate them only till primary level so that they can at least read and write letters. I would want my son to be educated.”
-Dost Mohommad, Driver, Zila Mardan
“Girls must be educated because without education there is ‘darkness’ in the house. If educated, a girl can also work. I will educate my daughter as the son can learn some technical skills whereas, a girl cannot.”
-Haji Muhamad Baloch, Driver, Dadu
“Girls should be educated till matric. It will be beneficial because they will be able to manage their households in a better manner. They will be able to raise their children well and education will also improve their morals. If required she can also work, perhaps be a teacher but not during my lifetime. When I die she can then work for her children. Nevertheless, I would like to educate my son.”
-Liaquat Ali Khan, Driver, Sawabi Village
“We should educate our daughters but I cannot afford to do that. I have three sons and I'm sending one of them to school, the other two cannot be educated, as I do not have the resources.”
-Noor Muhammad, Driver, Swat
“The world is progressing fast therefore, we should educate our daughters. It is also the need of time that we educate our children. Education will allow them to differentiate between right and wrong. Girls should be educated till matric level only. As you know at college level, both government and private, the environment is not suitable at all. I will not allow my daughter to work as mostly men are present in the work place. She should be trained to work at home as offices are male dominated, if it is a ‘girls only’ office then I will not have a problem. If I have to choose between educating my son or daughter, I would educate my son because men can work freely as opposed to women.”
-Qari Allahbuksh, Tadrees-ul Quran, Raheemyar Khan
“Daughters should be educated! Educated to an extent that she is not dependent on anyone. Girls should also learn some skills such as embroidery and sewing in addition to education so that if needed they can be at home and earn a decent living. Girls should not go out and work with ‘ghair mard’ (strangers) because not only is it against our religion also if women working for mills, factories and offices are terminated the un-employed men who have difficulties finding a job will be easily employed.
I have a daughter and a son and I will educate my son as earning for a living is a man’s responsibility. A man needs to be educated more than a woman. A woman’s responsibility is to look after the house and raise the children. A woman’s work is within the boundaries of the house whereas a man should deal with the outdoor chores.”
-Muhammad Shibli Hasan, Salesman, Korangi
‘Jalee Katee’
"There is no benefit of education! Do we have the resources to send our children to school? If a child doesn't do exceptionally well in school it leaves a bad impact on him, he cannot find a good job then and also refrains from doing manual labor. So what is to be done for a living? When he cannot earn, he becomes the cause of the destruction of society. The government does not care about our problems. The money that the government spends on education is of no use to us - it’s useful to their own children in the shape of scholarships. They are all thieves! They eat our money! We don't even have money for our food and living- where in the world will we get the money for sending our children to schools? If the government provides free education along with free books even then we will think twice before sending our children to schools."
-The final blow from a Distressed Citizen
